The Unspeakable Failures of David Foster Wallace : Language, Identity, and Resistance

This book examines the writing of David Foster Wallace, hailed as the voice of a generation on his death. Critics have identified horror of solipsism, obsession with sincerity and a corresponding ambivalence regarding postmodern irony, and detailed attention to contemporary culture as the central elements of Wallace's writing. Clare Hayes-Brady draws on the evolving discourses of Wallace studies, focusing on the unifying anti-teleology of his writing, arguing that that position is a fundamentally political response to the condition of neo-liberal America. She argues that Wallace's work is most unified by its resistance to closure, which pervades the structural, narrative and stylistic elements of his writing. Taking a broadly thematic approach to the numerous types of 'failure', or lack of completion, visible throughout his work, the book offers a framework within which to read Wallace's work as a coherent whole, rather than split along the lines of fiction versus non-fiction, or pre- and post- Infinite Jest , two critical positions that have become dominant over the last five years. While demonstrating the centrality of 'failure', the book also explores Wallace's approach to sincere communication as a recurring response to what he saw as the inane, self-absorbed commodification of language and society, along with less explored themes such as gender, naming and heroism. Situating Wallace as both a product of his time and an artist sui generis , Hayes-Brady details his abiding interest in philosophy, language and the struggle for an authentic self in late-twentieth-century America. A Critical Overview Of The Writing Of David Foster Wallace, Taking His Persistent Interests In Philosophy, Language And Plurality As Points Of Departure-- Preface -- Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction -- 2. I'm A Man Of My- Wallace And The Incomplete -- 3. It's Just The Texture Of The World I Live In: Wallace And The World -- 4. The Book, The Broom, And The Ladder: Grounding Philosophy -- 5. Something To Do With Love: Writing And The Process Of Communication -- 6. Narcissism, Alienation, And Commun(al)ity -- 7. Vocal Instability And Narrative Structure -- 8. Personally I'm Neutral On The Menstruation Point: Gender, Difference, And The Body -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index Clare Hayes-brady. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Abbreviations 1. Introduction 2. “I’m a Man of My—” Wallace and the Incomplete 3. “It’s Just the Texture of the World I Live in”: Wallace and the World 4. The Book, the Broom, and the Ladder: Grounding Philosophy 5. “Something to Do with Love”: Writing and the Process of Communication 6. Narcissism, Alienation, and Commun(al)ity 7. Vocal Instability and Narrative Structure 8. “Personally I’m Neutral on the Menstruation Point”: Gender, Difference, and the Body Conclusion Bibliography Index